136 menthe recipes

Cherry and almond Christmas cake: maraschino cherries, apricots, ginger, and almonds macerated in amaretto and brandy, baked into a lighter apple-puree batter, then soaked in more amaretto. A boozy, fruit-packed festive cake that keeps for a month.

Orange hot and sweet mustard made with dry mustard, fresh orange and lemon juice, honey, and cinnamon. A bold homemade condiment that keeps for a month.

Pickled Zante grapes (Champagne grapes) in a sweet champagne vinegar brine with allspice. Cocktail garnish and cheese-board jewel that keeps for months.

A low-sugar blueberry spread set with gelatin instead of pectin, brightened with ginger and lemon zest. No canning required. Keeps a month in the fridge or a year in the freezer.

Pennsylvania Dutch pickled bell peppers stuffed with shredded cabbage, salt, and yellow mustard seeds, then submerged in cold vinegar. Old-fashioned cold-pack pickle that keeps for months without canning.

Freezer slaw is a make-ahead cabbage slaw that freezes without going soggy. Salt-cured cabbage, carrots, and peppers in a sweet-tart vinegar dressing. Lasts months in the freezer.

Cinnamon applesauce Christmas ornaments: scented dough ornaments made from cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and applesauce. Not edible, but they smell like Christmas for months.

A fragrant South Indian curry powder toasted from whole spices: cumin, black mustard, fenugreek, curry leaves, dried chili, and urad dal, ground fresh. Keeps for four months in a jar.

Quick summer vegetable refrigerator pickles with fennel, zucchini, cauliflower, and red onion in a fennel-seed and peppercorn brine finished with olive oil and balsamic. Keeps a month.

Homemade hot chili powder blend with paprika, turmeric, dried chili peppers, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. More pungent and fresher than store-bought. Keeps for 6 months on the shelf.

Homemade elderberry wine fermented with fresh berries, sugar, lemon juice, and yeast. A traditional country winemaking recipe that needs just five ingredients and three months of patience.

Homemade grainy raspberry mustard with whole mustard seeds, raspberry vinegar, white wine, and seedless raspberry jam. A sweet-sharp condiment that keeps for up to a month.

Homemade honey mustard made from scratch with dry mustard powder, honey, apple cider vinegar, and turmeric. A creamy condiment that keeps refrigerated for up to a month.

Homemade peach fruit leather: just ripe peaches and sugar, sun-dried or oven-dried into chewy strips. Two-ingredient snack that keeps for months.

Indian nut masala paste made from toasted cumin, cardamom, poppy seeds, and peppercorns ground with almonds, garlic, and fresh ginger. Keeps for a month.

Freezer cinnamon fruit rolls with soft yeasted dough, a rich filling of brown sugar, golden raisins, dried apricots, pecans, and cinnamon, finished with a simple sugar glaze. Make ahead and freeze for up to 2 months.